Lamp base and terminal means therefor



May 9, 1961 w. PECHY LAMP BASE AND TERMINAL MEANS THEREFOR Filed Jan. 2.1959 FIG. 3.

FIG. 6.

INi ENTOR. W/LU/IM P United. States Patent LAMP BASE AND TERMINAL MEANS'rnnnaroa William Pechy, Manasquan, N.J., assignor to WestinghouseElectric Corporation, =East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation ofPennsylvania Filed Jan. 2, 1959, Ser. No. 784,488

8 Claims. (Cl. 313-318) This invention relates generally to electriclamps and, more particularly, to a base and terminal construction forgaseous discharge lamps, such as the so-called rapid start" andhighly-loaded fluorescent lamps, and to a method for fabricating andincorporating such terminals into the base during the normal sequence ofoperations required to complete the lamp.

In certain types of double-ended gaseous discharge lamps, such as theaforesaid rapid start and highly-loaded fluorescent lamps, for example,the energizing circuit and design of the lamps are such that if one endof the lamp is inserted into its holder an electrical potential ofsufficient magnitude may be developed across the lamp to causeanelectrical shock if the terminals at the other end of the lamp wereaccidentally contacted. In order to obviate this shock hazard and at thesame time reduce the cost of the lamp base it has become the practice toprovide such lamps with recessed contact type bases wherein in place ofthe usual basepins the ends of the lead wires themselves are utilized asthe lamp terminals and incorporated into the base in such a manner as tobe recessed within the insulating body portion thereof. Heretofore, thishas been accomplished by threading both lead wires through an opening inthe insulating body portion of the base and bending the protruding endsof said lead wires laterally in opposite directions away from each otherinto recessed position within slots provided in the outer face of theinsulator and over pockets located at the ends of said slots. The leadwires are anchored in this position either by crimping the ends thereofinto the pockets or by driving a separate fastening element such as adeformable rivet or eyelet into each pocket into clamping engagementwith the inturned lead wire ends. In this manner the lead wires aredisposed and held along opposite sides of the opening against the wallsof the insulator which are contoured to support said wires in positionfor electrical engagement with the edges of blade-like electrical supplycontacts of a holder for the lamp when said lamp is inserted into itsholder and said contacts were accommodated by the aforesaid opening.

Due to the normal circular cross-sectional configuration of the leadwires and the blade-like conformation and disposition of the holdercontacts, it was inherent in the foregoing type of prior art base thatonly line contact could be effected between the terminal portions ofsaid lead wires and the edge surfaces of the holder contacts. Becausethe electrical juncture was thus so limited in area it was not onlymandatory that the lead wires be precisely aligned with the edges of theholder contacts but that they be rigidly anchored to entirely eliminaterandom movement thereof during the insertion of the lamp into its holderso as to maintain such alignment, and thatexcess oxidation of the leadwires from the glass-working fires during the sealing-in operation beavoided. The aforesaid deficiencies are corrected in another type ofprior art base by wedging metal inserts into the lead-receiving openingadjacent the inner walls of the base insulator and using such inserts asthe lamp terminals instead of the lead wires. Laterally disposed tabs onthe outer ends of the inserts are recessed below the outer face of thebase insulator and apertured to receive the ends of the lead wires whichare threaded through openings provided between said inserts and theadjacent walls of the insulator. Electrical connection of the lead wireswith the inserts is effected by welding the protruding ends of the leadwires to the aforesaid tabular portions of the inserts, due care beingtaken to make the weld as close to the insert and as small as possibleto prevent it from being accidentally contacted. While this latterarrangement provides a clean flat contact surface for the lamp ofconsiderable area, it necessitates the use of two additional parts perbase and the incorporation of such parts into the base structure as wellas an eyeletinserting or a critical welding operation, thereby addingsubstantially to both the material and manufacturing cost of the baseand lamp.

It is accordingly the general object of the present invention to obviatethe foregoing deficiencies and objections to the prior art structures byproviding an improved base and terminal construction for an electricaldevice which will insure a positive electrical connection between thedevice and its holder and require a minimum amount of labor andmaterial.

Another and more specific object of this invention is the provision ofan electrical discharge device such as a double-ended rapid start orhighly-loaded fluorescent lamp which can be safely inserted into itsholder and when assembled therewith will automatically make positiveelectrical connection with the holder contacts directly through its leadwires.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a method ofefiiciently and conveniently fabricating terminal means for anelectrical device from the device leadin wires and then incorporatingsaid terminal means into a base attached to the device during the normalsequence of operations required to attach said base and complete theassembly of said device.

The aforesaid objects, and others which will become obvious to thoseskilled in the art as the description pro,- ceeds, are achievedaccording to the invention by flattening the exposed ends of the lamplead wires to provide enlarged terminal sections of predetermined lengthand thickness and then incorporating the lead wires into a base having aspecially conformed insulator portion adapted to receive said lead wiresand protect them from accidental contact. The ends of the terminalsections are bent into a cavity provided in the outer face of the baseinsulator and extend along a pair of oppositely-disv posed shoulderslocated at the sides of said cavity. The shoulders are so disposed andconformed that they coact to pressure the flattened surfaces of the endsof the terminal sections into positive electrical engagement with theelectrical supply contacts of a conventional holder adapted to receivesuch so-called recessed contact type bases. Thus, in contact to theprior art structures, it is not only inherent in the base and terminalconstruction of the present invention that clean and recessed lampterminals of considerable area are provided which automatically insure,upon the insertion of the lamp into its holder, positivesurface-to-surface engagement of the holder contacts at all times butthat this preferred type of juncture is achieved directly through thelamp lead wires. Thus, not only is positive connection between the lampand its holder achieved without any additional base parts but theaforementioned eyelet-inserting or critical welding operationsnecessitated by such parts are also obviated thereby substantiallydecreasing both the maaddition, the steps required to properly conditionthe lead wires to form the aforesaid terminal sections and thenincorporate said sections into the base are of such character that theycan be very conveniently and efficiently performed automatically byconventional equipment during the normal sequence of operations requiredto complete the lamp, thereby even further facilitating the fabricationof the lamp and reducing its cost.

A better understanding of the invention may be had by referring to theaccompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side sectional view of one end of a rapid start orhighly-loaded fiourescent lamp incorporating the base and recessedterminal construction of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the lamp end shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view along the line III-III of Fig. 1, inthe direction of the arrows, the base alone being shown in section tomore clearly illustrate its construction and the disposition of theretroverted ends of the lead wire terminal sections within the baseslots and cavity;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the sealed-in end portion of thecompleted lamp shown in part in Figs. 1 to 3 and illustrates thedisposition of the lead wire terminal sections after the flattening andtrimming operations and just before the b asing operation;

Figs. 5 and 6, respectively, illustrate the steps of flattening andtrimming the lead wires to form enlarged terminal sections in accordancewith the invention;

Figs. 7 and 8 are perspective views of the interior and exterior,respectively, of the base per se which is shown in assembledrelationship with the lamp end illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3;

Fig. 9 is a side view of the lamp end shown in Figs. 1 to 3 disposed inoperative relation with the contactor portion of a conventional holderemployed with such lamps, a part of the base and said holder portionbeing in section to more clearly illustrate the manner in which the lampterminals positively seat against the accommodated holder contacts; and

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view on an enlarged scalethrough the area of juncture between the lamp and bolder along the lineXX of Fig. 9, in the direction of the arrows, contrasting the dimensionsof the lamp terminals, base cavity and the contact portion of the holderand the manner in which these elements cooperate to effect the desiredpositive electrical connection of the lamp and holder in accordance withthe illustrated embodiment of this invention.

With specific reference to the drawing, in Fig. 1 there is shown one endof a conventional rapid start or highlyloaded fiourescent lamp 10 whichlamp comprises in general a tubular envelope 12 the inner surfacewhereof is coated with a suitable phosphor, such as zinc silicateactivated by manganese for example, capable of converting theultraviolet radiations produced by the gaseous discharge within the lampinto visible radiations of the desired Wavelength. A vitreous stem 18provided at each end of the envelope 12 has flexible lead Wires 14 and16 sealed therethrough which are supportingly connected to a filamentaryelectrode 13 that is coated with the usual electron-emissive material,such as alkalineearth compounds for example. A vitreous tubulationprotrudes outwardly from the stem 18 and is tipped-off adjacent theenvelope 12 after the latter has been evacuated and charged with ameasured amount of mercury and inert ionizable starting gas such asargon in accordance with conventional lamp-making practice. As shown inFigs. 1 to 3, a base 24 incorporating the structural features and lampterminal means of this invention is attached to each end of the envelope12 by a quantity of basing cement 38 to facilitate the connection of thelamp 10 with a suitable lamp holder and a source of electrical energy.

Since both ends of the lamp 10 and the bases 24 thereat are identical,only one end of said lamp and its base has been illustrated in thedrawing and will be described for conciseness in description. Theessence of this invention resides in the construction of the base 24 andin the manner in which the exposed ends of the lead wires 14 and 16 areprocessed and then assembled with the base to provide recessed terminalmeans for the lamp 10 and these will hereinafter be more fullydescribed.

As illustrated most particularly in Figs. 7 and 8, the base 24 comprisesgenerally a cap member having an end wall 26 and an integral upstandingboss 28 which depends outwardly from said end wall. The end wall 26 andboss 28 are fabricated from a suitable thermosetting electricallyinsulating material, such as phenol-furfural or phenolic resincompounds, and together constitute what may be termed the insulatingbody portion of the base 24. The cup-shaped peripheral portion or shellof said base may also 'be fabricated from insulating material, in whichcase the base 24 may be molded as a unit as in the embodiment hereshown, or it may be fabricated from a suitable metal such as sheetaluminum and anchored to the aforesaid body portion as is well-known inthe art.

The boss 28 is generally rectangular in shape but has rounded ends andis dimensioned to nestingly fit within a similarly shaped boss-receivingopening of a conventional holder 40 (see Fig. 9) employed with lampshaving such recessed-contact bases. As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 7, a pairof spaced apertures 34 extend through the end wall 26 and ends of theboss 28 to provide axial passageways for the lead wires 14 and '16 fromthe inner surface of the base 24 to the end face of said boss. Anelongated cavity 30 is provided in the end face of the boss 28 whichcavity extends transversely of said boss in the direction of elongationthereof and is disposed between and preferably in spaced alignment withthe aforesaid apertures 34 so that the inner end wall surfaces of theboss '28 will be adjacent to and axially aligned with said apertures.The cavity 30 is of sufficient depth to accommodate the contactorportion of the holder 40 and preferably extends completely through theboss 28 and end wall 26 as here shown to accomodate the seal tip of thetubulation 20 and to conserve insulating material and facilitate basemanufacture. The aforesaid inner end wall surfaces of the boss 28 aresubstantially flat for a considerable distance inward from the end faceof said boss, preferably throughout their entire length as in thepresent embodiment, in a direction approximately at right angles to thedirection of elongation of said boss and the cavity 30 so as toconstitute a pair of parallel and oppositely-disposedlongitudinally-extending shoulders 32 within said cavity. The contactorportion of the holder 40 is generally straight-sided so that the cavity30 may be rectangular in cross-section as illustrated. As shown mostparticularly in Figs. 1 to 3 and 8, a pair of slots 36 extend inopposite directions from each of the shoulders 32 transversely acrossthe end face of the boss 28 to each of the apertures 34 and preferablytherebeyond completely across said boss to provide lateral passagewaysfor the ends of the lead wires 14 and 16 when they are bent into thecavity 30, as will be hereinafter described. Thus, a passageway isprovided for each of the lead wires 14 and 16 which extends from theinner surface of the base 24 through the end wall 26 and boss 28 andlaterally across the end face of said boss through the appropriate oneof the slots 36 to a point of termination on the shoulders 32 inwardfrom said slots.

As will be noted in Figs. 1 and 2 and particularly in Fig. 7, theapertures 34 are elongated in cross-section in a direction approximatelyat right angles to the direction of elongation of both the cavity 30 andboss 28 so that the surfaces of the aforesaid shoulders 32 aresubstantially fiat in a direction parallel to the direction ofelongation of said apertures. Attention is also directed to the factthat the slots 36 are of sufficient depth to completely recess thelaterally extending parts of the leads 14 and 16 disposed therein, as inthe prior art bases of this type.

In accordance with the present invention electrical connection of thelamp with its holder 40 is effected by flattening the ends of theflexible lead wires 14 and 16 protruding from the sealed end of the lampenvelope 12 to provide enlarged terminal sections 14' and 16' ofappreciable stiffness and of predetermined Width and thickness. In orderto obtain terminal sections of the proper dimensions and degree ofstiffness it has been found necessary in practice to fabricate the outerportions of the leads from heavier gauge wire than was conventionallyemployed heretofore in lamps of the same rating and design. For example,in the case of a 40 watt rapid start lamp 4 ft. in length and having anenvelope 1%" in diameter, the diameter of the outer leads was increasedfrom the usual .020 of an inch to approximately .035 of an inch topermit the formation of a terminal section approximately .010 of an inchthick, .095 of an inch wide and 9 mm. long. In addition, in order tokeep the oxidation of the lead wires 14 and 16 by the sealing-in firesto a minimum it has been found desirable but not essential to fabricatethe outer leads from nickel wire rather than the unplated copper wireusually employed. It is to be understood that the foregoing lead wireand terminal dimensions are given by way of example only, since theywill vary considerably depending upon the size of the lamp involved andexact conformation of the base employed.

The lead wires 14 and 16 are preferably flattened after the lamp 10 hasbeen tipped-off and before it is based. This operation may beconveniently accomplished by first positioning the wires in a commonplane, which includes the longitudinal axis of the lamp, and thenplacing the wires between the working surfaces of an anvil 50 and a pairof opposed reciprocally-movable hammers 52 and actuating said hammers tocompress a preselected intermediate portion of the lead to apredetermined width and thickness, as shown in Fig. 5. The hammers 52are then withdrawn and a pair of similarly disposed and actuable knives54 are moved inward-1y toward each other and in cooperation with thebottom edge of the anvil 50 trim the enlarged terminal sections 14' and16' thus formed to a predetermined length. Thus, enlarged terminalsections 14' and 16' are formed at the ends of the lead wires 14 and 16,respectively, which sections are flattened in parallel planes normal tothe plane in which said lead wires are disposed and are of predeterminedlength, width and thickness. It should be noted that the lamp 10 andlead wires 14 and 16 are so positioned with respect to theaforementioned lead flattening and trimming means that the resultantterminal sections 14' and 16, when incorporated into the base 24 in themanner hereinafter described, will have their flattened surfaces seatedagainst and will extend longitudinally along the shoulders 32 to a pointof termination thereon located a considerable distance inward from theslots 36 (see Figs. 1, 3 and 9).

Basing of the lamp 10 is accomplished in the usual manner by threadingthe base 24 over the lead wires 14 and 16 and seating it on the end ofthe envelope 12. In accordance with the present invention, however, thelead wires 14 and 16 are threaded through the end apertures 34 ratherthan through a central opening similar to the cavity 30 as in the priorat base designs previously described. The apertures 34 are sodimensioned that they registrably receive the enlarged terminal sections14' and 16' and may be appropriately flared at their inward ends tofacilitate the threading of said sections through the base 24, as isshown in Figs. 1 and 7. The apertures 34 may also be slightly taperedlengthwise in their narrow dimension to more snugly accommodate theportions of the aforesaid terminal sections disposed therein, as shownin Figs. 1 and 2. By virtue of the foregoing construction, the flattenedlead wire terminal sections are. automatically positioned in parallelrelationship by the apertures 34 during the threading operation and arethus properly oriented with respect to each other and to the base cavityfor the subsequent bending operation.

After the base 24 has been seated on the end of the envelope 12 theportions of the terminal sections 14 and 16' protruding from theapertures 34 are bent over toward each other into recessed positionwithin the slots 36 and into the cavity 30 against the shoulders 32therein. The aforesaid terminal sections are thus retroverted and sodisposed that the ends thereof extend inwardly into the cavity in spacedparallel relationship longitudinally along the shoulders 32 to a pointof termination thereon located a considerable distance inward from thebottom of the slots 36, as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, 9 and 10. Theterminal sections .14 and 16 may be bent into the slots 36 and cavity 30in the manner above-described either during or after the basingoperation. It should be noted that the aforesaid terminal sections aretrimmed to such a length that the protruding ends thereof cannot touchone another after the sections have been threaded into the base 24 evenif they accidentally displaced toward each other prior to the bendingoperation. This will prevent short circuits from occurring between theseelements in the event the sealed-in lamp 10 is seasoned before finalforming of the terminal sections. As will be recognized by those skilledin the art, the lead flatening and bending operations are simple enoughin character that the fabrication of the lamp terminals and theincorporation thereof into the base may be conveniently and eflicientlyaccomplished during the normal sequence of operations requiredtocomplete the assembly of the lamp 10.

As illustrated in Fig. 9, the holder 40 is so designed that when thelamp 10 is inserted therein the boss 28 nestingly seats within asimilarly shaped opening 48 provided in said holder so that theblade-like contacts 42 and 44 of the holder along with an insulatingpartition 46 are, in turn, inserted into the boss cavity 30. Theshoulders 32 along which the retroverted ends of the lead wire terminalsections 14' and 16 extend are spaced a distance sufficient toaccommodate therebetween the aforesaid contactor portion of the holder40 with a predetermined amount of clearance. The thickness of each ofthe terminal sections 14' and 16' is at least equivalent to half thetotal clearance between the shoulders 32 and the accommodated contactorportion of the lamp holder 40. Thus, when the lamp 10 is inserted intoits holder the shoulders 32 coact to pressure the flattened surfaces ofthe retroverted ends of the terminal sections 14' and 16 disposed withinthe cavity 30 against and into surface-to-surface engagement with theappropriately notched edge surfaces of the holder contacts 42 and 44thereby insuring a positive electrical connection between said lamp andholder at all times.

The foregoing dimensional relationship of the various parts isillustrated in Fig. 10 which is an enlarged crosssectional view throughthe area of juncture between the lamp base 24 and holder 40. As shown,the distance a between the shoulders 32 is greater by a predeterminedamount than the span e of the holder contacts 42 and 44 when the latterare in their inserted positions within the boss cavity 30. The thickness0 of each of the lead wire terminal sections 14 and 16 is such thattheir combined thickness compensates for any looseness of fit lengthwisebetween the boss 28 and contact portion of the holder 40 therebypressuring the flattened surfaces of said sections against the notchededges of the aforesaid holder contacts. In fact, since the holdercontacts 42 and 44 are customarily resiliently mounted within the holder40 and thus compressible inwardly, the boss cavity 30 and aforesaidterminal sections are purposely dimensioned to make a force fit with theedges of the aforesaid holder contacts so as to resiliently compress theholder contacts and bias the notched edge surfaces thereof firmlyagainst the flattened surfaces of said terminal,

sections when the lamp 10 is inserted into the holder 40. The width b ofthe cavity 30 is larger than the corresponding dimension of thecontactor portion of the holder to permit free entry of the latter alongthis dimension. As shown, the width d of the lead wire terminal sections14 and 16 is considerably larger than the thickness f of the blade-likeholder contacts 42 and 44 thereby permitting a certain amount ofmisalignment between these elements Without decreasing the area ofcontact.

While the invention as above described has been treated in terms of adouble-ended fluorescent lamp 10 having a pair of lead wires 14 and 16at each of its ends, it will be recognized that the same beneficialresults and advantages may also be derived by applying the principles ofthe inventionto single-ended devices having either a single or amultiplicity of lead wires protruding therefrom.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the objects of the inventionhave been achieved by providing an improved recessed contact base andterminal means for electrical devices such as rapid start orhighly-loaded fluorescent lamps which will automatically effect apositive electrical connection between the lamp and its holder directlythrough the lamp lead-in wires over a cleaner and much greater surfacearea than was heretofore possible. In addition, by virtue of theconfiguration of the improved base the aforesaid terminal means may beconveniently and efiiciently fabricated and incorporated into the basestructure during the normal sequence of operations required to completethe assembly of the lamp without the need for additional base parts oroperations to anchor the leads in the base thereby reducing both thematerial and manufacturing cost of both the lamp and base.

While one specific embodiment of this invention has been described inaccordance with the patent statutes, it will be recognized by thoseskilled in the art that various changes both as regards theconfiguration and arrangement of parts may be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A base adapted for mounting on an end of an electric lamp having apair of flexible lead wires extending therefrom, the exposed endswhereof have been flattened and form enlarged terminal sections ofappreciable stiffness, said base comprising a body of insulatingmaterial having a pair of spaced apertures therethrough and a cavityextending inwardly from an exposed face-thereof and disposed betweensaid apertures, said apertures being elongated in cross section anddimensioned registrably to receive the enlarged terminal sections ofsaid lead wires, portions of the walls of said cavity adjacent to andaxially aligned with said apertures being substantially fiat in thedirection of the elongation of the adjacent aperture inwardly from theface of said body to provide oppositely-disposedlongitudinally-extending shoulders in said cavity, slots in said bodyextending transversely in opposite directions from said shoulders acrossthe face of said body to said apertures and dimensioned to providelateral passageways for recessing the enlarged terminal sections of saidlead wires when said terminal sections are threaded through saidapertures and bent over toward each other into the aforesaid cavity andagainst said shoulders, said shoulders being spaced apart to accommodatetherebetween the bent-over ends of said lead wire terminal sections andthe insulated electrical supply contacts of a holder for said lamp andadapted thereby to pressure the flattened surfaces of the aforesaid endsof said terminal sections against and into positive electricalengagement with the accommodated electrical supply contacts when thelamp is inserted into its holder.

2. A base adapted for mounting on an end of an electric lamp having apair of flexible lead wires extending therefrom, the exposed ends ofwhich are flattened and form enlarged terminal sections of appreciablestiffness, said base comprising; a cap member, an upstanding bossofinsulating material integral with said cap member, a pair of spacedapertures through said boss and cap memher, a cavity between saidapertures extending inwardly from the end face of said boss, saidapertures being elongated in cross section and dimensioned registrablyto receive the enlarged terminal section of a lead wire threadedtherethrough, slots extending across the end face of said boss from thesaid apertures and communicating with said cavity and dimensioned toprovide lateral passageways for recessing the enlarged terminal sectionsof said lead wires when said terminal sections are threaded through saidapertures and bent-over toward each other and into the aforesaid cavity,portions of the walls of said cavity inward from said slots beingsubstantially flat in the direction of elongation of the adjacentaperture and spaced apart to accommodate therebetween the bent-over endsof said lead wire terminal sections and the insulated electrical supplycontacts of a holder for said lamp and thereby pressure the flattenedsurfaces of the aforesaid ends of said terminal sections against andinto positive electrical egnagement with the accommodated electricalsupply contact when the lamp is inserted into its holder.

3. A lamp base as set forth in claim 2 wherein, said cavity is ofelongated configuration, and said apertures are disposed at the ends ofsaid cavity and are elongated in a direction transverse to the directionof elongation of said cavity.

4. In an electric discharge lamp of the type which re quires recessedcontacts and which includes a sealed envelope; the combination of a pairof flexible lead wires extending from an end of said envelope, portionsof the exposed ends of said lead wires being flattened and formingenlarged terminal sections of appreciable stiffness and preselectedlength; and a base mounted on the said end of said envelope andenclosing said leads and enlarged terminal sections thereof; said basecomprising a body of insulating material having a pair of spacedapertures of elongated cross-section therethrough and a cavity extendinginwardly from its outer surface and disposed between said apertures,portions of the walls of said cavity adjacent said apertures beingsubstantially flat in the direction of elongation of the respectiveapertures for a considerable distance inward from the outer face of saidbody and adapted thereby to define a pair of opposed shoulders withinsaid cavity, the outer face of said insulating body having a pair ofslots therein joining each of said apertures with the adjacent shoulderand dimensioned to re ceive and constitute a recess for the flatenedlead wire terminal sections; and said lead wires extending through saidapertures and the said enlarged terminal sections being disposed inrecessed position within and extending along said slots with their freeends bent inwardly into said cavity and seated flat against therespective ones of said shoulders; the spacing between said shouldersbeing such that the retroverted ends of said lead wire terminalsections, upon the insertion into said cavity of the insulatedelectrical supply contacts of a holder for said lamp, are pressedagainst said shoulders by and held in positive electrical engagementwith the accommodated electrical supply contacts of said holder.

5. The combination of flattened lead wire terminals and a base in anelectric discharge lamp as set forth in claim 4 wherein, said aperturesare disposed in parallel spaced relationship and are dimensionedregistrably to receive the flattened terminal sections of said leadwires, and said cavity is elongated in a direction transverse to thedirection of elongation of said aperturesv 6. The combination offlattened lead wire terminals and a base in an electric discharge lampas set forth in claim 5 wherein, the end walls of saidelongated cavitycomprise said shoulders, and said end walls are substan tially flatandparallel to each other and disposed atsub- 9 stantially right anglesto the direction of elongation of said cavity.

7. In the manufacture of an electric discharge lamp of the type whichrequires recessed contacts and which includes an envelope having an endfrom which a pair of lead wires extend; the method of fabricatingterminal means for said lamp from said lead wires and assembling saidterminals with a base mounted on the said end of said envelope; saidbase having a pair of apertures therethrough and a cavity in its outersurface connected to said apertures by slots, said cavity beingdimensioned to receive the insulated electrical supply contacts of aholder for said lamps and being conformed to define a pair of oppositelydisposed shoulders spaced to accommodate therebetween the aforesaidsupply contacts with a predetermined amount of clearance, and said slotsbeing dimensioned to receive and define recesses for said terminalmeans: which method comprises; flattening the exposed ends of said leadWires to provide a pair of enlarged terminal sections of predeterminedlength that have a combined thickness substatially equal to theclearance between the electrical supply contacts of said holder, when ininserted position, and the aforesaid shoulders; threading said terminalsections through said apertures during the placement of said base on thesaid end of the envelope; bending each of the protruding ends of saidlead wire terminal sections through a substantially right angle 10toward each other and into recessed position within said slots; and thenbending each of the end segments of said lead wire terminal sectionsthat overlie said cavity through another substantially right anglearound the lip of said cavity to seat them against the adjacent ones ofsaid shoulders in opposed longitudinally-extending relationship withinsaid cavity.

8. In an electric discharge lamp, the combination of a pair of leadwires and a base as set forth in claim 4 wherein, at least the enlargedterminal sections of said lead wires are fabricated from a metal that isresistant to oxidation by the lamp sealing-in fires, and said enlargedterminal sections are greater in width than the parts of said electricalsupply contacts which they engage.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,156,048 Baier Apr. 25, 1939 2,627,048 Lamb Jan. 27, 1953 2,116,739Lemmers Aug. 30, 1955 2,730,689 Lamb Jan. 10, 1956 2,774,589 Thomas -1Nov. 20, 1956 2,860,274 Wright Nov. 11, 1958 2,860,502 Westra Nov. 18,1958 2,886,629 Van Geel May 12, 1959 2,899,671 Cridland Aug. 11, 1959

